Abstract

Malaria has long been known as one of the major public health problems in West Sumba District, East Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia. To obtain baseline data for establishment of a suitable malaria control program in the area, malariometric surveys were conducted in two sub-districts, Wanokaka and Loli, during the periods of January, May, and August 2005. The survey included three selected villages in each sub-district, and blood smear analyses of 701, 921, and 894 randomly selected subjects in January, May, and August revealed 30.5%, 25.3%, and 28.2% malaria positives, respectively, consisting mainly of Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax, and in a few cases, P. malariae. Analysis of malaria prevalence at different age groups clearly reflected the common phenomenon that younger individuals are more vulnerable by infection of either P. falciparum or P. vivax. In falciparum malaria, the frequency of cases carrying gametocytes was also relatively high involving all age groups. The findings indicate that the malaria incidence and transmission in the area are relatively high and that further exploration is warranted to establish a precise malaria control program.